North Shore Railhttp://northshorerail.nz
Support rail to the North Shore of AucklandMon, 13 Mar 2017 09:08:43 +0000en-NZhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.11http://northshorerail.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/logo-blue-150x150.pngNorth Shore Railhttp://northshorerail.nz
3232Route Protection Updatehttp://northshorerail.nz/2017/03/13/route-protection-update/
Mon, 13 Mar 2017 09:08:43 +0000http://northshorerail.nz/?p=238[...]]]>We were expecting planning approvals to be lodged with Auckland Council by now, however we recently received the following update from the NZTA:

Our initial timeframes for route protection have changed, as we are considering a wider range of possible sub options, the outputs from ATAP and opportunities for greater integration with work underway from our project partners. The NZTA Board will be meeting in March and further information, including updated timeframes for consultation, is expected to be available following that meeting.

This marks a shift in NZTA’s approach. Let’s hope the rail only option is being considered.

A road crossing has no business case and is likely to cause more congestion on Auckland’s roads, not less. Instead, an electrified rail crossing would offer more capacity for people, lower construction costs, lower carbon emissions and less pollution of our environment.

We are hosting a free public meeting so you can find out the latest and support our campaign. MC’d by Barb Cuthbert from Bike Auckland, speakers include:

]]>AWHC Impacts On Victoria Parkhttp://northshorerail.nz/2016/08/09/awhc-impacts-on-victoria-park/
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 19:15:39 +0000http://northshorerail.nz/?p=221[...]]]>Officials from the NZTA have provided an update on the likely impact on Victoria Park

Currently we understand that during construction a portion of Victoria Park, in the vicinity of the current viaduct (i.e. towards the western end), will be needed in order to build the tunnels and permanently remove the current viaduct structure.

Post-construction the park will be reinstated and, with the removal of the overhead viaduct, we envisage this will provide a more open and useable space for the city. We would also look to work with Auckland Council on any opportunities for enhancement to the park during the reinstatement just as we did as part of the Victoria Park Tunnel project.

So if the road crossing goes ahead it looks like the popular skate park may have to go during construction, and the NZTA aren’t saying at this stage what the impact on the Victoria Park trees will be. The trade off will be the possibility of moving the current viaduct underground, something that could have been done as part of the Victoria Park tunnel project.

And an update on when consultation and next steps are supposed to start:

Our current timeframes for public consultation are February 2017 which will avoid the busy Christmas period. The relevant planning approvals will be lodged with Auckland Council once the project team have had opportunity to review and consider feedback from consultation – likely a month or two following.

]]>Greens On Board With Rail to the Shorehttp://northshorerail.nz/2016/08/07/greens-on-board-with-rail-to-the-shore/
Sat, 06 Aug 2016 19:04:50 +0000http://northshorerail.nz/?p=218[...]]]>Yesterday the Greens demonstrated their support for North Shore rail with Julie-Anne Genter hosting a media event at Takapuna.

“The Green Party is calling on the Government to make rail the priority for Auckland’s second harbour crossing,” said Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter.

“Building a rail line is the most cost-effective, sensible way to help more people travel to and from the Shore and avoid congestion.

It’s great that the Greens are formally on board. It would be even better to have the other political parties as well. It should be every politician’s ideal that we move people efficiently around Auckland. It should be every politician’s ideal to support transport projects that offer the most capacity at peak times. It should be every political party’s ideal to support transport projects that lower carbon emissions and contribute to the goals that our country signed up to in Paris. It should be every political party’s ideal to support transport projects that make economic sense, and to stop projects that don’t make any sense whatsoever.

The NZTA tell us that they are working together with Auckland Transport to ensure a future crossing will include road and public transport. They insist that this will ensure the road designation enables and is fully integrated with a future public transport. But we’ve heard this before when the second Manukau Harbour crossing was built. Mangere is still waiting for rapid transit, in spite of us going out and getting more than 10,000 signatures in support of rail to the airport. So South Auckland has lost out, and North Shore could be the next area of Auckland to lose out too.

]]>Chris Darby On North Shore Railhttp://northshorerail.nz/2016/06/29/chris-darby-on-north-shore-rail/
Tue, 28 Jun 2016 20:02:59 +0000http://northshorerail.nz/?p=215[...]]]>Councillor Chris Darby has come out in support of North Shore rail, in this opinion piece for the Herald. He’s the only Auckland City councillor so far to do so.

Rail to the Shore formed part of the original 1950s plan for the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Sixty years later, a government is on the verge of missing the opportunity again. The current plan risks wasting billions on a road-only second harbour crossing, and neglects to seriously analyse the possibility of a rail tunnel. Now is the time to look to the North with rail in mind.

]]>NZTA Designating for Road Onlyhttp://northshorerail.nz/2016/06/15/nzta-designating-for-road-only/
Wed, 15 Jun 2016 03:12:24 +0000http://northshorerail.nz/?p=209[...]]]>TransportBlog did a recent post showing that NZTA are not including rail in their $27m budget for an additional Waitemata Harbour Crossing. Instead, NZTA are leaving the rail designation up to Auckland Transport and Kiwirail. On the face of it this might seem a valid approach, but this is the same approach used for rapid transit to Auckland Airport. Of course, years after the completion of the Manukau Harbour Crossing project we are still waiting for rail to the airport, and in the meantime the $1.8bn East West Link and Kirkbride Road projects effectively undo the so called “future proofing” for rail.

As TransportBlog points out, the AWHC work is ill-considered and over-rushed. It also looks as if the NZTA are planning a tunnel all the way from Victoria Park to Esmonde Rd, making the project potentially even more expensive.

In our view, NZTA need to stop what they are doing and include rail in the AWHC project in a collaborative way from the outset. We’ve asked the NZTA to put the route protection work on hold until this and a number of issues have been resolved, as outlined in this letter. We are waiting for the NZTA to respond.

Auckland Transport and the NZ Transport Agency are being urged to progress rail to the North Shore, following the ground breaking ceremony for the City Rail Link today.

“The CRL will remove a major bottleneck in the rail network, so the time is right to begin planning for rail to the North Shore,” said Campaign for Better Transport spokesperson Cameron Pitches.

The Government funded NZ Transport Agency has $27m budgeted to progress a legal designation for a six lane road-only tunnel across the Waitemata Harbour, in spite of a preliminary business case indicating the project will only return to the economy 40c for every dollar invested.

“It seems obvious that a high capacity, low carbon emission electric rail link across the Waitemata will do far more to move the thousands of people necessary at peak times each working day. With the new Western Ring Route motorway between Manukau and Albany set to be complete in 2017, there is no urgency whatsoever for more road capacity. We have time to get this right.”

A recent Official Information Act request by the TransportBlog website revealed that the NZ Transport Agency is leaving any decision on designating a corridor for rail to Auckland Transport.

“The Transport Agency is actually required by law to consider other land transport options and alternatives as part of the criteria for funding. We’d like to see the NZTA commit its own funds to evaluate a rail only crossing and work with Auckland Transport, rather than pressing on ahead with its own uneconomic project that so far has had zero input from the general public,” said Mr Pitches.

Costing between $4bn and $6bn, a road only tunnel between Victoria Park and Esmonde Road would be the single most expensive transport project ever undertaken in New Zealand, requiring tolling on the tunnel and possibly the existing Harbour Bridge as well to part-fund it.

In comparison, smaller diameter tunnels for rail – the same size as the CRL tunnels – have been estimated to cost up to $1.5bn.

“That would leave a budget of up to $4.5bn for a rail network covering the North Shore and other areas. Building a rail tunnel first will also defer the need for additional road capacity for decades, which will help motorists and freight companies,” said Mr Pitches.

The northshorerail.nz petition has so far gained over 1,200 supporters.

]]>http://northshorerail.nz/2016/06/02/north-shore-rail-the-next-step/feed/0Spread the word with the North Shore Rail Flyerhttp://northshorerail.nz/2016/03/31/spread-the-word-with-the-north-shore-rail-flyer/
http://northshorerail.nz/2016/03/31/spread-the-word-with-the-north-shore-rail-flyer/#respondWed, 30 Mar 2016 18:30:28 +0000http://northshorerail.nz/?p=195[...]]]>The online petition is steadily growing with over 1,100 supporters at last count, but we need to get the word out on to the street. You can help by printing off this Support North Shore Rail Flyer and handing it out to people you know (and maybe people you don’t!). It’s two pages as it is designed to be printed two pages per A4 sheet so that we save on printing costs.

If you have time to distribute the flyers or have access to a high capacity colour printer, let us know on the contact form on the home page so that we can co-ordinate.

]]>http://northshorerail.nz/2016/03/31/spread-the-word-with-the-north-shore-rail-flyer/feed/0Harbour Crossing Consultation Timeframes Slippinghttp://northshorerail.nz/2016/03/23/harbour-crossing-consultation-timeframes-slipping/
http://northshorerail.nz/2016/03/23/harbour-crossing-consultation-timeframes-slipping/#commentsTue, 22 Mar 2016 18:00:41 +0000http://northshorerail.nz/?p=187[...]]]>We recently received an update from the NZTA on when to expect consultation on the new harbour crossing. Previously we had been told that consultation would be taking place about now, however NZTA are now saying:

Current timeframes have moved slightly to what was previously suggested.

We are planning to share an indicative design with the community in the second half of 2016. At this stage, lodgement is planned for end of 2016 / first half of 2017. This would be followed by public notification and a hearing thereafter.

Obviously it is going to be interesting to see what the “indicative design” will be. Ideally NZTA will save billions by building rail first to the North Shore, instead of going with a variation of the road-centric designs that we have seen to date.

Talking of designs, last month TransportBlog revisited the idea of a bridge across the harbour instead of a tunnel. Take a look at some of the stunning designs that could be possible here.